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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — a video
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. clip — to cut
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bear — the animal
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bear — the animal
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. tube — a container
  22. plane — a tool
  23. deal — to handle
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com